Mechanisms to maintain doors in a closed position and permit the doors to be opened when desired are known. The doors of mobile homes, recreational vehicles and the like require the mechanisms to have an outside handle and an inside handle that both operate on a rotor of a rotor mechanism. The rotor engages a striker bolt affixed to the door frame to mold the door closed. The outside handle preferably is flush with the door to provide an aerodynamic configuration and to minimize the likelihood of the outside handle catching on objects that may come in contact with the outside of the door. Typically, the mechanism has a body that defines a recess in which the outside handle is positioned. Often, a number of parts are required to secure the outside handle to the body thus increasing the cost and the complexity in assembling the mechanism. Also, the way in which the outside handle is connected to the body can result in a opening in the body through which water can enter the mechanism and cause damage thereto.
The handles are indirectly mechanically linked to the rotor to rotate the rotor to disengage the striker bolt and permit the door to be opened. Unfortunately, the indirect mechanical linkage is often complicated which increases the costs, the time required to assemble the mechanism and the likelihood that the mechanical linkage will fail.
Also, care must be taken to ensure that the exterior handle mechanical linkage is operably associated with the rotor mechanism Many mechanisms do not provide a satisfactory way to achieve the alignment for operable association other than by sight and/or trial and error which are often unsatisfactory as they can waste time.
One way in which the mechanism and door are assembled is to provide an opening in the door. The rotor mechanism is then affixed to the edge of the door. Unfortunately, the rotor mechanism is often difficult to install because bolts inserted through the door edge and holes in the rotor mechanism must be secure using lock washers and nuts. The use of lock washers and nuts requires extra parts and further complicates assembly of the door and mechanism as these extra parts must be aligned with the bolt and fastened thereon.
Many rotor mechanisms do not have an easily usable actuator to rotate the rotor into a disengaged position when installing the mechanism. Thus, if the rotor engages the striker bolt, an expedient, e.g. a screwdriver, must be utilized to disengage the rotor. The use of an expedient can harm the rotor mechanism and can harm the person assembling the mechanism to the door.
Additionally, the interior handle mechanical linkage can be very responsive to the movement of the interior handle. Thus, if the interior handle is utilized to push or pull the door closed, the mechanical linkage can hold the rotor in the disengaged position thus preventing the door from being held closed by the rotor.
A door closure assembly that solves some of the problems in the aforementioned mechanisms would be highly desirable.